Penetrable bed used for cutting sheet material

ABSTRACT

A penetrable bed includes bristles fixedly connected to a base portion thereof with a penetrable filler material disposed in the area around the bristles thereby providing additional support thereto. The penetrable filler material may be selected from a group consisting of a granular substance, a self-healing material or mixtures thereof.

United States Patent Gerber et al. [4 July 18, 1972 PENETRABLE BED USEDFOR [56] References Cited CUTTING SHEET MATERIAL UNITED STATES PA'I'ENTSInventors Helm Joseph Gerber: Remind 245,149 8/1881 Fowler ..83/658 uxWm 24s,1s0 8/1881 Fowler ..83/658 ux [73] Assignee': Gerber GarmentTechnology Iue., East Hartford, Conn. Primary Examiner-James M. Meister[22] Filed: M 9 1970 Attorney-McCormick, Paulding & Huber [21] Appl.No.: 96,385 [57] ABSTRACT A penetrable bed includes bristles fixedlyconnected to a base FIE-(9" 83/561, p rti thereof a peneu'able fillermaterial in n the area around the bristles thereby providing additionalsup- [58] Fwd of Search "83/6581 65.9, 925 port thereto. The penetrablefiller material may be selected from a group consisting of a granularsubstance, a self-healing material or mixtures thereof.

13 Chins, 5 Drawing Figures PATENIED JUL! 8 M2 3577} 123 sum 1 or 2INVENTORS HE/NZ JOSEPH GERBER DAV/D RAYMOND PEA/2L ATTORNEYS mamasJUL18|972 3517.123

SHEET 2 OF 2 INVENTORS HE/NZ JOSE PH GERBER DA V/D RA YMO/VD PEA/EL BY%M7 1% ATTORNEYS PENETRABLE BED USED FOR CU'ITING SHEET MATERIAL RELATEDAPPLICATION This application is related to subject matter disclosed inthe co-pending U.S. application, Ser. No. 821,723, now U.S. Pat. No.3,548,647, filed May 5, 1969.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The use of a bed of penetrable materialtogether with a sheet material cutting apparatus is generally known inthe prior art as evidenced by the subject matter of the above mentionedco-pending application. Such beds are used with apparatus adapted forcutting garment components or the like from either a layup of sheetsarranged in vertically stacked relationship or a single sheet which isspread out in a generally flat condition prior to the cutting operation.

The general use of a penetrable material bed composed of a plurality offlexible bristles fixedly connected to a bottom base portion is alsoknown. In the prior art bristle bed, the bristles are free to move inany direction when any force is applied thereon. Bristles stand up fromthe base portion and tend to have a natural shifting characteristic.

When the cutting blade of the sheet material cutting apparatuspenetrates the prior art bristle bed, it imparts some force to the clothas well as to the bristles disposed therebelow. The shiftingcharacteristics of the bristles tend to cause the cloth to roll sidewaysduring the cutting operation thereby causing an inaccurate cutting ofthe layup of cloth sheets or single sheet of cloth being cut.

PURPOSE OF THE INVENTION The primary object of this invention is toprovide a penetrable bed including bristles fixedly attached to a baseportion in which the shifting of the bristles is prevented during thecutting operation. It is another object of this invention to provide abed including a plurality of bristles to be used in a sheet materialcutting apparatus while preventing the movement of the sheet materialalong the supporting surface during the cutting operation.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved clothcutting apparatus having a substantially continuous penetrablesupporting surface for the cloth wherein the apparatus is particularlywell adapted to operate automatically in response to control signalsapplied by associated numerically controlled controller, computer or thelike, without the cloth having a tendency to shift position on thesupporting surface.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A penetrable, bristle bed as presented hereincomprises a base portion and a plurality of flexible bristles fixedlyconnected thereto. The bristles extend generally perpendicular to asubstantially continuous penetrable surface for supporting sheetmaterial such as cloth. A free area surrounds the bristles of thepenetrable bed and a penetrable filler material is disposed in at leasta portion of the free area. The filler material provides additionalsupport to the flexible bristles and thereby overcomes the naturaltendency for the bristles to shift when the cutting blade penetrates thebristle bed during the cutting operation. The penetrable filler materialmay be selected from the group consisting of a granular substance, aself-healing material and mixtures thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects of this invention willappear in the following description and appended claims, reference beingmade to the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specificationwherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in theseveral views.

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a sheet material cuttingapparatus made in accordance with this invention,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along line 22 ofFIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the apparatusof FIG. 1, shown partially in section,

FIG. 4 is generally similar to FIG. 3 but shows a further embodiment ofthe invention, and

FIG. 5 is generally similar to FIG. 3 but shows a still furtherapparatus made in accordance with this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS More specifically, a sheet materialor fabric cutting apparatus, generally designated 10, includes table 11which provides support for a fabric layup 12 comprising a plurality offabric sheets arranged in vertically stacked relation. The carriage,generally designated 13, is adapted to move across the surface of thetable 11 in the coordinate directions indicated by the arrows X and Y. Acutting mechanism 15 having a cutting blade 16 is mounted on thecarriage 13 so that the cutting mechanism 15 can be driven to and fromany predetermined point relative to the table surface. The blade 16extends downwardly from the main body of the cutting mechanism 15 and isreciprocated vertically by a motor in the cutter body. It may also berotated 360 by another motor in the cutter body.

The main carriage 25 is movably mounted on the racks 14 therebyproviding movement of the cutting mechanism along the longitudinaldirection of table 11 or in the X co-ordinate direction. The cuttercarriage 13 is movably mounted on a guide bar or tube 26 and a leadscrew 34 of the main carriage 25 which extends transversely of the table11. Movement of the carriage 13 along the guide bar 26, as driven withthe lead screw 34, is in the Y co-ordinate direction.

The main carriage 25 includes a drive shaft (not shown) which extendstransversely of table 11 and has pinions at its opposite end forengaging the travel support racks 14. Movement of the main carriage 25is effected in response to operation of a drive motor (not shown) whichis connected to the main carriage drive shaft. The cutting mechanismcarriage 13 moves transversely of the table in response to the operationof another guide motor (not shown) which is operably connected to leadscrew 34.

The movement of the carriages l3 and 25 may be effected in response topositioning signals supplied through the cable 24 by an associated inputmeans such as, for example, a numerically controlled controller or acomputer (not shown). The carriages 13 and 25 are capable of moving theblade 16 in cutting engagement with the layup 12 along any line whichmay be straight or curved as required in cutting a garment component orthe like. The blade 16 has a reciprocating cutting stroke and is adaptedfor rotation about its own axis in a direction indicated by the arrow 0in response to signals from the input means. During at least a portionof its stroke, the blade 16 penetrates the upper supporting surface 20of the table 11. The operation of the cutting apparatus 10 as describedhereinabove is fully set forth in co-pending application, Ser. No.821,723, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,548,697, filed May 5, 1969, which isincorporated herewith.

As suggested previously, the cutting table 11 may be constructed fromvarious materials and may take a variety of forms. The invention of thisparticular application is directed specifically to the use of apenetrable, bristle bed, generally designated 17, on which the fabriclayup 12 composed of sheets of cloth is disposed during the cuttingoperation. The bristle bed 17 is disposed in a frame having a bottomwall and side and end walls which extend upwardly from the bottom wallto form a shallow container. The bristle bed 17 may be formed from aplurality of generally rectangular blocks or as continuous stripsextending across the entire width of the table 11.

The bed 17 includes a base portion 19 and a plurality of flexiblebristles or fibers 18 fixedlyconnected thereto. The base portion 19 maybe composed of a solid plastic or rubber material. The bristles 18extend generally perpendicular to a supporting surface on which thelayup 12 is disposed. A free area surrounds the bristles 18. In otherwords, the free area is that portion within the bed 17 which is notoccupied by the bristles 18. A penetrable filler material 21 is disposedin at least a portion of the free area thereby providing additionalsupport to the flexible bristles 18.

The filler material 21 is present in the free area around the bristles18 at a depth sufficient to prevent shifting of the bristles 18 duringthe cutting operation. The degree of shifting will depend upon theresiliency of the material used to form the bristles, the length of thebristles, the type of filler material used in the free area and thecutting conditions including the texture of the sheet material being cutand the speed of the operation. The filler material must be penetrablebecause the tip of the blade 16 will be repeatedly buried in thematerial of the bed 17 at all times during the normal cutting operation.The tip of the blade 16 will extend slightly more than half way throughthe bed 17 at the lower extremity of the blade stroke during the cuttingoperation. This particular adjustment of the blade 16 is not, however,essential, and if desired, the blade 16 may be adjusted so that more orless of the tip remains buried at all times in the bed 17. Further, theblade 16 may penetrate through more or less than half the thickness ofthe bed 17. The adjustment of the blade stroke may in some cases be suchthat the tip of the blade 16 actually moves above the top surfacethereof during a portion of its stroke.

It has been found that the flexible bristle bed is very desirous becauseit is substantially immune to damage from repeated blade penetration.However, the problem exists that the flexibility of the bristles orfibers 18 has a tendency to cause the fabric layup to move when engagedby the cutting blade 16 during the cutting operation.

The bristles 18 are arranged in close relation to each other so that ina plane passing transversely of the bristles 18 near their free end sothat the area occupied by the bristles 18 is greater than the free areasurrounding the same. It has been necessary to develop a means by whichthis problem may be overcome and still maintain the characteristics ofthe bristle bed which is immune to damage from the repeated bladepenetration. The specific embodiment as shown in FIG. 3 includes the useof a self-healing or self-repairing material 21. The self-healingmaterial 21 is a superviscous liquid which exhibits the properties of asolid material. A material of this type marketed under the trade nameSilly Putty has been found particularly well suited for the presentpurpose. A substantially continuous penetrable and planar supportingsurface 20 is provided by a sheet of material 28 which rests on theupper surface formed by the plurality of bristles 18. The sheet 28 ispreferably paper or light material which may be readily discarded andreplaced as necessary. However, sheet 28 may not be needed in someinstances depending upon the character of the material being cut in thelayup 12. In these instances, the sheet of material 28 may be eliminatedwith the surface of the bed 17 being formed by the ends of the bristles18. In this instance, the material being cut directly engages thebristles 18 themselves.

There are some instances where the free area between the bristles 18 maybe completely filled with the superviscous liquid 21. However, there areother instances where it may be desired to fill the free area to only alimited degree which is effective to overcome the shifting movement ofthe material being cut on the supporting surface 20. In some forms ofthe apparatus 10, it is desirous to have an air space located below thesupporting surface 20 for the purpose of drawing a vacuum therealongthereby making the bristle bed 17 extremely versatile in its utility.

Other types of penetrable filler material may also be used. Theembodiment as shown in FIG. 4 discloses a portion of the penetrablematerial to be of a granular substance 22 and another portion of thematerial being a superviscous liquid such as used in the embodiment ofFIG. 3. The embodiment as shown in FIG. 5 discloses the use of a fillermaterial that is composed completely of granular substance 22. Thesuperviscous liquid and the granular substance are self-healingmaterials. Additionally, it is possible that other self-healingmaterials may be used in practicing the invention. Granular materialwhich is contemplated for use in this invention may include suchmaterials as sawdust, small balls of metal or plastic, and granules offoamed or unfoamed plastics.

While the penetrable bed used for cutting sheet material has been shownand described in detail, it is obvious that this invention is not to beconsidered as being limited to the exact form disclosed, and thatchanges in detail and construction may be made therein within the scopeof the invention, without departing from the spirit thereof.

What we claim is:

1. In a sheet material cutting apparatus having a substantiallycontinuous, penetrable supporting surface for sheet material, a bed ofpenetrable material adjacent said supporting surface, a cutter and meansfor moving said cutter and said bed of penetrable material with respectto each other, said penetrable bed comprising:

a. a base portion,

b. a plurality of flexible bristles fixedly connected to said baseportion and extending generally perpendicular to said supportingsurface,

c. a free area surrounding said bristles, and

d. a penetrable filler material disposed in at least a portion of saidfree area thereby providing additional support to the flexible bristles.

2. In an apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the penetrable fillermaterial comprises at least a granular substance.

3. In an apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the penetrable fillermaterial comprises a self-healing material.

4. In an apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein the self-healingmaterial is a superviscous liquid.

5. In an apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the penetrable materialcomprises a first portion composed of a granular substance and a secondportion composed of a superviscous liquid.

6. In an apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said continuouspenetrable, sheet material supporting surface is formed by the ends ofthe flexible bristles extending across the penetrable material bed.

7. In an apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said continuouspenetrable supporting surface comprises a piece of supporting sheetmaterial overlying at least a portion of a surface of said penetrablematerial bed.

8. In an apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the penetrable fillermaterial is at a depth in the free area to prevent shifting of thebristles during the cutting operation.

9. A bed of penetrable material for use in a sheet material cuttingapparatus, said bed comprising:

a. a base portion,

b. a plurality of flexible bristles fixedly connected to said baseportion and extending generally perpendicular to said supportingsurface,

c. a free area surrounding said bristles, and

d. a penetrable filler material disposed in at least a portion of saidfree area thereby providing additional support to the flexible bristles.

10. A bed as defined in claim 9 wherein the penetrable filler materialcomprises at least a granular substance.

1 1. A bed as defined in claim 9 wherein the penetrable filler materialcomprises a self-healing material.

12. A bed as defined in claim 9 wherein the self-healing material is asuperviscous liquid.

13. A bed as defined in claim 9 wherein the penetrable materialcomprises a first portion composed of a granular substance and a secondportion composed of a superviscous liquid.

9 21 51? UNIJTED s'm'ms PATENT OFFICE (IERTHUCATE OF CORREC'HQN PatentNo. 3,677,123 Dgted July 18, 1972 Inventor( Heinz Joseph Gerbe rj DavidRaymond Pearl It is certified that error appears in th eebOVe-ddentifiedpatent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

a C01. 1, line- 7 "No. 3,548, 647" should read Signed and sealed this9th day of Jannary 1973.,

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARDMJFLETQH-ERJR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK ttesting Offlcer I Commissionerof Patents

1. In a sheet material cutting apparatus having a substantiallycontinuous, penetrable supporting surface for sheet material, a bed ofpenetrable material adjacent said supporting surface, a cutter and meansfor moving said cutter and said bed of penetrable material with respectto each other, said penetrable bed comprising: a. a base portion, b. aplurality of flexible bristles fixedly connected to said base portionand extending generally perpendicular to said supporting surface, c. afree area surrounding said bristles, and d. a penetrable filler materialdisposed in at least a portion of said free area thereby providingadditional support to the flexible bristles.
 2. In an apparatus asdefined in claim 1 wherein the penetrable filler material comprises atleast a granular substance.
 3. In an apparatus as defined in claim 1wherein the penetrable filler material comprises a self-healingmaterial.
 4. In an apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein theself-healing material is a superviscous liquid.
 5. In an apparatus asdefined in claim 1 wherein the penetrable material comprises a firstportion composed of a granular substance and a second portion composedof a superviscous liquid.
 6. In an apparatus as defined in claim 1wherein said continuous penetrable, sheet material supporting surface isformed by the ends of the flexible bristles extending across thepenetrable material bed.
 7. In an apparatus as defined in claim 1wherein said continuous penetrable supporting surface comprises a pieceof supporting sheet material overlying at least a portion of a surfaceof said penetrable material bed.
 8. In an apparatus as defined in claim1 wherein the penetrable filler material is at a depth in the free areato prevent shifting of the bristles during the cutting operation.
 9. Abed of penetrable material for use in a sheet material cuttingapparatus, said bed comprising: a. a base portion, b. a plurality offlexible bristles fixedly connected to said base portion and extendinggenerally perpendicular to said supporting surface, c. a free areasurrounding said bristles, and d. a penetrable filler material disposedin at lEast a portion of said free area thereby providing additionalsupport to the flexible bristles.
 10. A bed as defined in claim 9wherein the penetrable filler material comprises at least a granularsubstance.
 11. A bed as defined in claim 9 wherein the penetrable fillermaterial comprises a self-healing material.
 12. A bed as defined inclaim 9 wherein the self-healing material is a superviscous liquid. 13.A bed as defined in claim 9 wherein the penetrable material comprises afirst portion composed of a granular substance and a second portioncomposed of a superviscous liquid.